Augmented Reality For Customer Engagement

Why Analyst Relations (AR) is Becoming a Smart Bet for Mid-size Firms & Startups The analyst ecosystem has evolved, and this evolution is creating new opportunities for mid-size and emerging tech players. In many recent conversations (even with large analyst firms), there is a growing curiosity to learn more about smaller, agile providers - how they are adapting to AI, innovating faster, and creating value with leaner models. What is driving this shift? • The analyst landscape has diversified to include boutique and independent voices who are open to fresh stories • AI is leveling the playing field. Smaller firms are leveraging it for operational efficiency, deal restructuring, dynamic pricing, and smarter skilling programs • Analysts increasingly recognize that innovation and agility often come from mid-market and niche players. For mid-size firms and startups, this means one thing: It is the right time to align or start your Analyst Relations program. Building strong analyst relationships isn’t just about visibility it’s about shaping perception, gaining market intelligence, and turning analysts into your champions and advocates. As AI changes the competitive landscape, those who tell their story well with evidence, customer success, and clarity will stand out. Now is the time for smaller providers to make analysts part of their growth journey. Bhushan Marathe #AnalystRelations #B2BMarketing #TechLeadership #AI #Startups #MidMarket #GoToMarket

Not the tech of today or tomorrow, this is what Auto giants have been doing with Augmented Reality since 2015…Let's talk cars this Sunday ☀ Sharing 3 AR use-cases from my archives…By Mercedes, Hyundai & Porsche 🚨 Mercedes-Benz overlays important information, graphics and audio cues to help you find your way.  A camera in the windscreen films the area in front of the vehicle and shows either the video or a stationary image on the media display. 🚨 Hyundai has taken the concept one step further with its Virtual Guide app, which allows owners to use a smartphone or tablet to get interactive information on vehicle features via an augmented reality overlay. Users simply point their portable device's camera to a part of the car they want to learn more about, and the app highlights and delivers information on certain features. 🚨 Porsche has introduced augmented reality glasses to reduce repair times by up to 40%. Porsche has been using augmented reality (AR) to solve tricky service problems since 2018, letting local dealership technicians communicate with specialists thousands of miles away and access technical information hands-free while working. Today, there’s no auto-brand that’s untouched by Immersive Tech/ Metaverse. I remember my conversation with Piyush Gupta, CEO, Vosmos on how the automotive industry has direct fitment to AR, VR & Metaverse. In fact, his team is also actively working on numerous use-cases for the automobile sector. What do you think? Inviting meaningful conversations in comments. 🤔 #automotiveindustry #immersivelearning #virtualreality #metaverse Nicht die Technologie von heute oder morgen, das ist es, was Autogiganten seit 2015 mit Augmented Reality machen … Reden wir diesen Sonntag über Autos ☀ Ich teile 3 AR-Anwendungsfälle aus meinen Archiven … Von Mercedes, Hyundai und Porsche 🚨 Mercedes-Benz blendet wichtige Informationen, Grafiken und Audiohinweise ein, um Ihnen die Orientierung zu erleichtern. Eine Kamera in der Windschutzscheibe filmt den Bereich vor dem Fahrzeug und zeigt entweder das Video oder ein Standbild auf dem Media-Display an. 🚨 Hyundai hat das Konzept mit seiner Virtual Guide-App noch einen Schritt weitergeführt, die es Besitzern ermöglicht, über ein Augmented-Reality-Overlay mit einem Smartphone oder Tablet interaktive Informationen zu Fahrzeugfunktionen abzurufen. Benutzer richten einfach die Kamera ihres tragbaren Geräts auf einen Teil des Autos, über den sie mehr erfahren möchten, und die App hebt bestimmte Funktionen hervor und liefert Informationen zu ihnen. 🚨 Porsche hat eine Augmented-Reality-Brille eingeführt, um die Reparaturzeiten um bis zu 40 % zu verkürzen. Seit 2018 nutzt Porsche Augmented Reality (AR), um knifflige Serviceprobleme zu lösen. So können die Techniker des örtlichen Autohauses mit Spezialisten in tausenden Kilometern Entfernung kommunizieren und während der Arbeit freihändig auf technische Informationen zugreifen.

𝐙𝐚𝐫𝐚’𝐬 𝐯𝐢𝐫𝐭𝐮𝐚𝐥 𝐭𝐫𝐲-𝐨𝐧: 𝐚 𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐞𝐭 𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐩 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝 ZARA has recently launched an AI-powered virtual try-on. This technology is not new and many brands are integrating it into their e-commerce. What I find especially interesting about Zara is how they are doing it: selectively in some markets (not yet in Spain btw), and without over-communicating it and the execution looks very accurate. Zara is testing, learning and iterating before scaling. This approach is consistent with how Inditex has historically adopted technology: pilots first, operational validation and scale once the value is proven. If we look back, Inditex has been experimenting with AR and VR for some years, especially in-store: ✳️ AR shop windows where garments appeared in motion, scanning them with your smartphone, in their store in Oxford Circus in London (if I remember correctly) ✳️ Smart fitting rooms with virtual try ons, but in a fun way as those in Bershka Barcelona, where technology was about engagement, experimentation and social sharing. ✳️ Digital collections with AR technologies, also with Bershka by FFFACE.ME, clearly designed for a younger audience, allowing users to interact with digital garments through AR layers and posting them in their socials, building brand relevance and viral moments. Zara’s website is, in my view, a real spectacle in consumer experience. It manages to be highly aspirational and extremely functional at the same time: 🔅 Editorial-level visuals and fashion films (as the last one, "The dinner", have you seen it? ) that reinforce brand desire. 🔅 High-resolution product imagery with an exceptional level of detail, allowing the customer to really “see” the garment. 🔅 Short videos embedded at product level, showing the piece in movement on the model, adding context, fit and attitude. 🔅An AI assistant (“How can I help you?”), only in some markets, still text-based but clearly designed to guide and support the purchase journey. And now we have the virtual try-on functionality: ✅ Realistic fit The solution is based on AI-generated avatars created from user-uploaded images (one selfie and one full body picture). By analysing the photos, the system builds a personalised digital representation of the user in 2 minutes, allowing garments to be overlaid and visualised in movement. This allows to see YOURSELF with a different combinations of looks, not on a 1,80 cm stunning model. And they can saved in the "My looks" section. ✅ Clear impact on returns and sustainability Early tests point to double-digit reductions in size-related returns. Fewer returns mean lower logistics costs and less reverse shipping. This could reduce the famous "bracketing"? It should. Looking ahead, why not integrate try-on technologies into platforms like Roblox? But let's leave this one for another post. #zara #virtualtryons #AR #consumerexperience

This week’s defining shift for me is that XR is becoming a marketing medium. What once felt like a technology for experimental activations is maturing into a channel for ongoing engagement and sales. Across industries from retail to real estate, XR is transforming how people experience products, events, and spaces, creating immersive experiences that connect with customers and deliver measurable results. This week’s spatial computing news surfaced signals like these: 🍕 Pizza Hut’s AR racing game turns pizza boxes into a campaign platform, letting customers scan a QR code to unlock an interactive Supercars experience tied to the Bathurst 1000. 😎 Banuba’s new eyewear try-on for Shopify gives online retailers an easy way to integrate AR into e-commerce, letting customers “try before they buy” directly from their devices. ⛵ SailGP’s RaceScape XR app blends live video and an AR tabletop racing experience on Vision Pro, making mixed reality part of how the league engages fans worldwide. 🪞 Aircards’ £3M raise will expand AR mirrors, LED tunnels, and spatial analytics, helping brands transform retail and event spaces into measurable, immersive experiences. 🏡 Three Space Lab’s $3M seed round scales VR real estate tours that act as both sales and marketing tools for luxury property developers across global markets. Why this matters: We’re still early, but XR is no longer limited to one-off activations. CPG, sports, retail, real estate, and fashion are all exploring ways to integrate it into their marketing and sales strategies. Once this kind of cross-sector momentum builds, it rarely fades. #realestate #marketing #advertising #brands #CPG #QSR #retail #ecommerce #mixedreality #augmentedreality #virtualreality #XR

Slam Dunk Marketing: How Augmented Reality Scored Big for Jordan Brand AR is often considered a "nice-to-have" feature, added to campaigns as an afterthought. However, AR isn't just a flashy add-on—it has the potential to be the centerpiece of innovative, immersive experiences that redefine how audiences engage with your brand. A prime example is the collaboration between Jordan Brand and Snapchat, created by R/GA, which celebrated the 30th anniversary of Michael Jordan’s iconic free throw line dunk. This experience from 2018 allowed fans to witness the legendary dunk through a geolocated AR experience on 12 basketball courts around Los Angeles. Users received push notifications directing them to specific spots on the court, where they could view the AR dunk and even purchase the exclusive Air Jordan III Tinker sneakers directly through the Snapchat lens. The results were remarkable: 5.8 million unique users engaged with the AR experience. 4x increase in user engagement compared to previous campaigns. The exclusive sneakers sold out in just 23 minutes. This campaign demonstrates that when AR is strategically integrated into the core of a marketing initiative, it can drive significant engagement and sales. By offering an immersive, interactive experience, brands can connect with audiences in meaningful ways, turning passive viewers into active participants. It's time to move beyond treating AR as an afterthought. When leveraged effectively, AR can be a powerful tool to captivate audiences and achieve tangible business results. #AugmentedReality #ARexperiences

𝐄𝐱𝐩𝐥𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐅𝐮𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐈𝐧-𝐂𝐚𝐫 𝐈𝐧𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐃𝐢𝐬𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐲𝐬: 𝐀𝐑-𝐇𝐔𝐃, 𝐏𝐇𝐔𝐃, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐏𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐫-𝐭𝐨-𝐏𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐫 𝐒𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐧 💡🚗 The automotive industry is rapidly innovating, and three cutting-edge technologies are leading the way in how we interact with in-car information: AR-HUD, PHUD, and pillar-to-pillar displays. Let’s dive into each of them and see where they shine—and where they might fall short. 1️⃣ AR-HUD (Augmented Reality Head-Up Display): Strengths: Ideal for displaying ADAS features and critical driving information like speed, lane assistance, and traffic signs directly onto the windshield, helping drivers keep their eyes on the road. Limitations: It’s excellent for safety-related info, but it lacks flexibility when it comes to presenting dynamic or non-driving content, limiting its use to primarily driving scenarios. 2️⃣ PHUD (Panoramic Head-Up Display): Strengths: Balancing between AR-HUD and pillar-to-pillar displays, PHUD offers more dynamic color displays and flexibility in content. It minimizes data input for the driver, enabling them to stay focused on the road while still showing important driving information across a larger area of the windshield. Limitations: While more flexible, PHUD may not be as precise in displaying critical driving data (like AR-HUD), and its large surface area might overwhelm the driver if not designed carefully. 3️⃣ Pillar-to-Pillar Display: Strengths: Ideal for non-driving scenarios, this technology offers flexibility and dynamism, presenting content across the entire width of the vehicle. Great for entertainment, vehicle status, or immersive navigation experiences. Limitations: While perfect for showing dynamic content, it’s less effective in showing critical driving information that needs to be prioritized and easily accessible for the driver. 🔄 My conclusion: These three options complement each other rather than competing. AR-HUD excels at safety-critical info, PHUD strikes a balance by offering more dynamic displays, and pillar-to-pillar screens provide flexibility for non-driving content. Together, they create a seamless and engaging in-car experience. How do you see these technologies working together in the future of automotive displays? 🤔 #AutomotiveInnovation #TechTrends #ARHUD #PHUD #PillartoPillar #CarDesign #InCarTech #FutureOfMobility Interior photo from AVATR-06 (35.4' 4K Pillar-to-pillar screen)

Calling Unity “just a game engine” doesn’t reflect what’s happening in automotive. In a recent conversation, James Liu, Head of Infotainment Platform and Experiences at Mercedes-Benz AG, explains how his team is using Unity to build the next generation of in-car experiences. In the latest GLC, that includes a 39-inch pillar-to-pillar hyperscreen with real-time 3D instrument clusters, maps, and interactive avatars. But what stood out to me wasn’t just the visuals. It was three things: • Performance that avoids even small “cognitive seconds” of distraction • Safety-aware design, including AI-driven visual optimization and gaze-based fading • A much shorter loop from concept to production through real-time iteration Unity is not only used for pre-visualization. It’s part of safety-critical systems in a production vehicle. As vehicles move toward Level 3 driving and more immersive, AI-driven interactions, the car is becoming a software-defined digital environment. That shift requires robust pipelines, scalable tooling, and teams thinking in 3D from day one. A personal thank you to James for the trust and the close collaboration. Our Industry team and I were deeply involved throughout this journey, and it’s been impressive to see how his organization has embraced new tools, built new capabilities, and pushed the boundaries of automotive HMI. #Automotive #HMI #SoftwareDefinedVehicle #RealTime3D #Infotainment #AI #Mobility https://lnkd.in/dZqggFEd

Your retail store is dying. And your website isn't saving you. Between 2019 and 2024, retail margins shrank by 2 to 3 percentage points annually. Some verticals lost 5 to 6 points. McKinsey & Company's data is brutal: digital laggards are being crushed. Digital leaders are generating 3.3 times higher revenue growth. Here's what changed: shoppers stopped choosing between online and offline. They want both, simultaneously, perfectly integrated. And most retailers have no idea how to deliver that. I run an IT company. We build solutions for retailers across three continents. Last month, a CEO told me his conversion rates were collapsing. Premium furniture. Established brand. Loyal customers who suddenly stopped buying online because they couldn't visualize the products at home. We deployed AR visualization. His return rates dropped from 7% to under 2% in 60 days. Conversion jumped 94%. Not because the furniture changed. Because uncertainty disappeared. This is the shift. Gartner projects 80% of retailers will deploy AR by end of 2025. Not as an experiment. As survival infrastructure. The AR/VR market just crossed $100 billion and will double to $200 billion by 2030. But here's what the research from Deloitte and McKinsey & Company reveals: technology adoption means nothing without transformation. Retailers spending millions on AR while running legacy systems from 2010 are burning money. The winners are rewiring their entire tech stack around immersive experiences. Forty percent of shoppers will pay premium prices for products they can test through AR. Over 90% of American consumers are open to AR shopping. Gen Z expects it. They're not impressed by virtual try-ons anymore. They're confused when you don't offer them. The brutal truth: if your customer can't see your product in their space, in their context, in real time, they're buying from someone who makes that possible. The gap between leaders and laggards isn't closing. It's accelerating. The revolution isn't coming. You're already late.

Recently in a case study round, I was asked "how would you increase in-store sales for a fast-fashion brand like ZARA?" Here’s how I approached it as a PM. I looked back at my experience and remembered standing in a long queue outside the trial room, arms full of clothes, slowly losing interest. I walked out without buying anything because the process felt like too much work. And that’s when it clicked, the problem isn't fashion. It’s friction. And thus, the goal was to turn in-store shopping from a chore into an experience worth showing up for. Presenting an Idea: “Try-On Screens”. Here’s how it works: 💡You pick up a dress you like. 💡Instead of heading to a crowded trial room, you walk over to a screen right next to the rack. 💡You tap the QR on the tag onto the mirror & stand in front of the screen. 💡It shows you what that outfit looks like on you, using AR. 💡You see size availability & alternate colors. 💡Like it? Buy it right there. No queue. No guessing. What I was really solving for: ❗No more waiting for trial rooms ❗No confusion about what’s available in your size Something that I missed: MVP As with any high-tech solution, feasibility matters. Here’s how I’d phase it: 🚀Use the brand’s mobile app to offer AR try-ons 🚀Install AR mirrors in high-footfall areas While this idea is a long-term play, the vision is to give customers the best of both worlds: the ease of digital shopping and the confidence of trying things in person. #ProductThinking #FastFashion #UXDesign #ID8 #ProductManagement #Zara #CaseStudy #PMThinking #innovation #marketing #business

#Meta is quietly disrupting a $4 trillion #automotive #industry. And it has nothing to do with social media. What we are witnessing is the emergence of #XR (Extended Reality) as a core #industrial layer. Transforming how #vehicles are designed, built, sold, and experienced. 🔍 Where the transformation is happening: 🏭 Design & Manufacturing #Automotive #leaders are no longer building #factories first. They are simulating them. • #BMW Group built a complete #digital #twin of its Debrecen plant before construction, validating every robot station and workflow in #VR. • #Ford Motor Company is using AR enabled workflows where remote experts resolve 95%+ of 5,000 weekly dealer queries without being on site. This is not optimization. It is simulation led #engineering. 🏪 #Sales & #Customer #Experience The #showroom is no longer #physical. It is #immersive. • Brands like Audi, Fiat, and Kia are enabling customers to configure and #experience #vehicles #virtually. • #Virtual first sales models are reducing distribution costs from 12–15% to 7–8%. From selling #cars → to delivering experiences. 🔬 Safety & Intelligent Interfaces The windshield is becoming a decision layer. • Industries building #assembly and quality testing #training models in immetsive labs. •Mercedes Benz and Nissan are integrating #AR based HUDs that overlay real-time navigation and #safety data directly into the driver’s field of view. This is not display. It is context aware intelligence. 📊 The Scale of Shift The global #AR #VR automotive market stands at ~$4.4B today. Projected to reach $68B+ by 2035. 🧠 The Real Insight The automotive industry is no longer just building vehicles. It is building: • #Simulation #environments • #Immersive #customer #experiences • Intelligent operational systems #Meta for Work is not entering automotive. It is becoming part of its core architecture. The question is: Are we still designing machines — or engineering immersive, intelligent mobility ecosystems? #Automotive #DigitalTwin #VirtualReality #AugmentedReality #Industry40 #Innovation #FutureOfMobility #DigitalTransformation #SmartManufacturing #EmergingTech #Auto